


Sanctuary in the Dark

by IWillNotGoGentlyIntoThatGoodNight (Menochange)



Series: The Truth About Perception [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Amnesiac Damian Wayne, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Batfamily Feels, Gen, Gotham is dangerous, Help comes from unexpected places, Masked Vigilantes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-12 18:13:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19950652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Menochange/pseuds/IWillNotGoGentlyIntoThatGoodNight
Summary: Finally the next story in the Amnesiac Damian series.Set straight after the ' The Monster I mean Mother that Lurks in the Dark'.Damian is once again eavesdropping (he really should stop give how badly it always ends up for him) and realises his family is in danger.





	Sanctuary in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to Angstville. Population Batfam. :)
> 
> Again in case anyone missed it, this story takes place immediate after the last one. (for anyone just starting with this story I would recommend starting from the first story in this series 'more than this' or this story might seem a little weird out of context) 
> 
> That said.. enjoy :)

Damian awoke, cold and alone. A far cry from the content warmth he had been surrounded by when he had first fallen asleep cocooned safely within the arms of his oldest brother. A quick glance around the darkened room confirmed that Richard was nowhere in sight, however it soon became apparent from the raised voices (Which must have been the reason he had awoken so abruptly) outside his room that his brother had not gone far. Though he couldn’t make out what they were saying, he could tell immediately that someone was not happy. Was it his mother, was she out there waiting for his defences to lower so she could get him. No. They had all just stood up for him, mere hours ago in the study. There was no way they would willingly hand him over to her. No way.

_Unless… they’ve finally realised_. A small voice whispered tauntingly at him and Damian let out a breath with such force that his whole frame shook violently. It doesn’t matter…. they love him…. Right?... Right, Tim had attested to that very fact earlier…

_But knowing the truth would change all of that right?_

No.

They wouldn’t. He knows they wouldn’t.

_And how do you know that? You don’t know them and they obviously don’t know the real you. Why are you so sure… you know that they’re pretending to care for you only because of the amnesia and now that you’ve gone and confessed to regaining your memories they no longer need to pretend anymore. They know what you really are._

The nasty little voice in his head was back with a vengeance, spreading the dark seeds of doubt as it voiced his greatest fears.

No. Damian though resolutely, trying to convince himself. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He had to stop listening to all the horrible things that little voice inside his head was saying. He closed his eyes trying to focus on something, anything else. The voices outside seemed to get louder a few words flowed through the wooden door, one of which was his name.

He shouldn’t. he knew he shouldn’t. he had literally promised himself earlier that he would never eavesdrop again considering what happened the last time any sane person would agree with him. Hell he agreed with himself on this and yet it here he was creeping out of his warm nest of blankets, easing his bedroom door open slightly and making his way towards the top of the stairs where the voices could be heard more clearly, echoing through the grand hallway from the downstairs lounge.

“- considering we don’t want to make another mistake like that again” Richard’s voice could be heard as he argued loudly somewhere down below.

“No” His father commanded voice stern and somewhat scary (in a way Damian had never thought he could sound).

A loud bang followed his father’s words causing Damian to jump and several voices to cry out in surprise (and one person - who sounded suspiciously like Jason - to laugh loudly).

“Dick!” Tim yelled obviously taken off guard at the same time Alfred spoke up to scold him for whatever occurred moments ago.

“Master Richard…”

“This is just like you. Do you even care? He admitted to having dreams B. He already knows some of it” Dick responded immediately ignoring everyone else.

In that moment Damian was struck with an image of his father and brother fighting, getting right in each other’s faces – Which was weird as this was quite literally the first time he had heard, let alone seen anyone in his family get into a real fight.

“Might I remind you gentlemen, that Master Damian is still asleep and we should all endeavour to keep it that way” Alfred cut in, his voice was soft, almost as though it were a casual suggestion but Damian – just like everyone else downstairs – wasn’t fooled, he knew instinctively that it was an order they would do well to listen to.

The silence that followed was menacing – And if he could feel the ominous atmosphere all the way upstairs, it was probably a hundred times worse for everyone else who was actually in the room – causing Damian to worry his lip anxiously… Should he should go downstairs to break the tension (would his presence make this situation better or worse? He wasn’t sure especially since he had no frame of reference to gage what the conversation had actually been about except that they knew the truth – which was something he was actively trying not to think about) or if he should go hide out in the relative safety of his room. He stood at the banister unsure as the silence dragged on.

But Damian wasn’t given any more time to deliberate as Jason’s voice hesitantly broke through the silence.

“I never thought I would ever say this but, Dickface is right. We should lay it all on the table.”

“I don’t agree. It’s not that I think you and Dick are wrong per se, but logically speaking I don’t think we should say anything. I know none of you probably want to acknowledge this, but Damian is better off without his memories. Honestly, it’s probably better for everyone if he never remembers.” Tim piped up

There was a pause for a moment as though they all just needed a moment to process and really think about it.

“Wow, harsh. And I mean… _I_ hate to say it too, but Timmy is right…I’d hate for…” Steph continued to speak but Damian blocked it out, his mind racing.

He had been right. They hated him or at least they hated who he used to be. Which meant that they had probably known this whole time how much of a monster he was and had chosen to still be nice to him because he couldn’t remember.

Damian smiled at his sudden realisation, happy at this welcome news deciding that he wanted to spend time with his family he took a step towards the stairs. This conversation was proof that all his previous fears were unfounded. He didn’t need to hide from the fact that he had been horrible before the accident. His family had known this whole time and had still been so welcoming and, they treated him so much better than he actually deserved from the moment he woke up. They had decided not to hold his past self’s actions against him.

They wanted him amnesia and all, not the boy he used to be.

Damian had honestly never been happier.

“And I mean it does help that he hasn’t instinctively tried to kill me again” Tim’s voice broke through his thoughts stopping him dead in his tracks already half-way down the stairs, but still out of sight.

What?

He had tried to kill Tim?

Why would he do that? Tim was a great big brother.

Was this why Tim flinched whenever Damian got too close to him?

Had Damian been unintentionally torturing his brother? Did Tim hate him even more now? Damian had just thought his brother had been shy. He had thought he was helping by deliberately putting himself in Tim’s space. He had seen Tim flinch whenever he was around but he had thought he was helping. He had thought Tim had this great fear of people but really, he had just feared Damian. And to make matters worse Damian had been traumatising him. He had justified his selfish actions by pretending it was aversion therapy – because if Damian was truly being honest, the real reason he was always in Tim’s space is because he was a needy brat who couldn’t handle the fact that Tim didn’t seem to like him or want to hang out with him. He had acted like such a child and poor Tim was too nice (or worse, he was too scared) to say anything about it.

Well this was going to stop right here, right now. Damian would keep his distance from Tim as to not freak him out. He would show them that he wasn’t the boy he used to be; he wasn’t that monster. He could be better. He _would_ do better. He had to show them that they hadn’t made a mistake by giving him a second chance.

_But how long until you become him again… you’re already starting to remember things. The doctors did mention that the memories would probably come back and soon you’ll be that monster again. You’ll probably try to kill Tim again. Admit it, amnesia or not…You’ll always be him; you’ll always be a monster._

Damian wanted to protest against these accusations that were spinning in his head, he wanted to rage at the injustice of it all, he wasn’t that boy anymore. He couldn’t be. But most of all he wanted to cry because he knew deep down that the voice inside his head was telling the truth.

Whether he remembered or not… He would always be a monster. That was just who he was. Who he would always be, and amnesia wasn’t an excuse. He was a danger to his family who were guilty of nothing except for trying to love something unlovable like him. He was a danger to them all. He had to save them because they refused to save themselves. They obviously didn’t realise that his memories would be back soon. They didn’t realise he would probably be back to being the one they called ‘Demon’ again. It was his fault for never telling them about his dreams, about his memories slowly creeping back in. He had to fix this. He couldn’t live with himself if he did the unthinkable and hurt of them.

He had to leave.

He had to get as far away from here as possible.

It was the only way.

He would do it for them.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you think. 
> 
> Also if you have any requests for the perception one shots let me know. I'm currently working on a Dami and Tim short which is turning a little more angsty than I originally intended... It'll hopefully be posted soon but since it happens after this story I might wait until I post chapter 2 before I upload that one :)


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